Written in the Stars
by basiccmind
Summary: When Cress first heard about the disease she didn't think much of it, but then the contamination spread like wildfire and she was ultimately left to fend for herself in a world of the undead. She has learned how to keep herself safe and sane (more or less). But it is only a few weeks into the apocalypse and Cress isn't planning on dying anytime soon.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Even Warriors Need Showers

* * *

 _A warrior._

 _I'm a warrior._

 _Strong, fearless, daring._

 _Not scared. Not scared. I'm not scared._

When Cress woke up, she could still feel on her lips the mantra of reassurance that had put her to sleep. Sleep. If that restless one-hour nap could be called sleep. But she couldn't complain, any spare time during which she allowed herself to rest was valuable.

Spare time, of course, had not been hard to come by in recent weeks, mainly due to the fact that at least three-fourths of the world's population had been contaminated by the deadly Letumosis disease. But even with all this time on her hands, Cress was in the process of losing sleep rather rapidly. As she supposes one should when on the run from the undead. Ever since she found herself alone and on the run, she had been scared to shut her eyes holding onto the fear that they may never reopen again.

Yes, these were the happy thoughts that often filled Cress' mind now. Hence the reason why Cress had never been more excited than she had been this morning when she had found the shack.

Sure, the siding was rotting in some places and the roof was caving in; it's a miracle that the undead hadn't ripped it apart in one of their rampant destruction moods, but she couldn't deny herself a shelter. It's a place to hide out for only as long as she needed to gather her bearings and then she would be gone.

A small part of Cress' mind also whispered that she couldn't deny herself one of her biggest dreams either; a place to call her own.

And so far, this place didn't seem to be as terribly unpleasant as she might have first thought. Inside, she found rope, a knife, and a few cans of preserves. She only dared to open one because who knew the next time she would find food.

With not even a sign of an undead since she'd been here, it was almost as if Cress was the last human being in the entire world. The only one left to save the world. _I am a superhero, I save people, and right now it's my duty to save the world. They need me._ Cress shook her head. The last thing she needed was to fall into old habits. At least she had Little Cress.

She knew it sounded stupid, but the little bear in the tattered dress was her only company so naturally she had begun to talk to it. She doesn't remember how she started telling the bear all of her thoughts and feelings, but before Cress knew it that bear had become her most faithful friend she had ever had. Granted, that wasn't saying much since it was one of the only friends she had ever had, but the bear was a friend she wouldn't abandon, not like the others.

She _couldn't_. She had promised.

Cress kept those thoughts with her as she got up from the sunken couch and walked to the storage closet at the back of the shack. Suddenly stopping in the doorway, Cress forgot why she had walked into the closet. She _had_ to stop thinking about the past because it certainly wouldn't be any help to her survival from now on.

Chiding herself, Cress wracked her brain to try and remember what she had come into the closet for. Towels, that's what she needed. _Stay on track, Cress._

She peered into all of the shelves on the wall, pushing away cobwebs and empty food cans. Nothing. Not even on the highest shelf where Cress had needed to climb precariously onto the bottom shelf to even reach it.

Cress climbed down and headed to the small bathroom on the other side of the room. Closing the door behind her, she headed toward the small cabinet underneath the rusty sink, crouched down on her knees, opened it and was disappointed to find nothing there either except a couple of daddy-longlegs, and a few old orange prescription bottles. She bit her bottom lip and took a look around the small room again.

A towel would be oh so helpful to her right now, but she supposed she could live without one. She stood up and went to the back corner of the bathroom where a short showerhead hung on the wall above a few dirty white tiles. There wasn't even a screen to divide the shower from the rest of the room. Cress set down her little bar of soap and travel-size toothbrush on the counter, took a deep breath, and quickly shucked off her torn dress and leggings. She turned on the shower head, prepared for the freezing cold water, but still yelped and jumped back as the water spewed out, spraying her in the process.

Knowing that the water wasn't going to get any warmer the longer it was kept running, and not wanting to attract any unwanted visitors with the sound, Cress quickly finished undressing and hopped under the water. It was quite possibly the fastest shower Cress had ever taken in her entire life, and she delighted in the thought of being more or less clean for the first time since the start of the apocalypse.

After washing with soap, she grabbed her toothbrush and scrubbed some soap onto that too. It wasn't the most pleasant taste in her mouth, but she didn't really have any other options and she liked to at least keep the habit of brushing her teeth if only for the sake of normality. Plus, she never knew when Prince Charming was going to burst through the door and save her, the damsel in distress. Cress smiled to herself and turned off the water. She grabbed her pair of leggings and dried herself as best she could with them then pulled on her undergarments.

She walked over to the sink to look into the shattered mirror above it. Through the broken pieces of glass, she hardly recognized herself. Her hair had gotten even longer, if possible, and her face was now gaunt and pale without its usual natural blush. Cress pinched the sides of her stomach, and was saddened by the number of ribs she could clearly count. She went to look down and her breathing hitched.

She quickly backed away from the rusty sink. She grabbed her clothes from the floor and held them to her chest as she pressed herself against the wall opposite the mirror.

Because the rusty sink wasn't rusty at all; it was bloody. With fairly fresh blood.

Someone else was staying here too.

She wasn't alone.

* * *

AN: hola, I've always used AO3, but someone suggested i post on ffnet too, so here it is! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! please please please comment, i love to hear from readers and it allows me to become a much better (read as: enthusiastic and encouraged) writer! OH AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS, hope y'all like this gift :)))


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Consciences and Consciousness are Dangerous

* * *

With a hand to her chest, Cress could feel her heartbeat pounding against her palm and through her fingers. _Deep breaths, Cress. Deep breaths._

There could be any number of reasons as to why there could be blood in the sink. With a second glance, she convinced herself that it didn't even look that fresh. She was just overreacting, as always. _Breathe in. Breathe out._

Maybe a wounded animal had crawled in here recently and _…? And what, Cress, washed itself off in the sink and left, closing the door on its way out?_ _Stars, get a grip, Cress._ There _had_ to be a reasonable explanation that she just hadn't thought of yet.

And besides, she had bigger problems to worry about. An undead could have easily heard her with all of the commotion she had made between the shower and the sink, and if an undead had picked up on even the smallest of sounds with its radar hearing, then it wouldn't be long until it followed the sound to its source-her. She cursed herself. _Now put the rest of your clothes on so that you don't look like a complete idiot when the undead find you, kill you, and you are resurrected into a half-naked zombie._

Cress really hated her sarcastic conscience sometimes.

After awkwardly pulling her dress over her head and managing to not slip on the wet floor while hopping around trying to put on her still-damp pants, Cress walked cautiously towards the sink.

She couldn't tell if this sink had ever truly been white porcelain because of the years of mildew, other unknown dried substances, and now the even more noticeable red blood that covered the sink in its entirety. The blood wasn't splattered, but instead lay in a small pool over the clogged drain. It was almost as if someone had carefully cleaned a wound. Probably _not_ a wounded wild animal as Cress' mind had first suggested, but a person.

A real living person.

Cress' head automatically filled with thoughts of a friend. Someone who wasn't a stuffed bear missing an ear, but an actual human being with whom she could have a two-sided conversation.

Cress caught herself staring into the pool of blood as if it were a wishing well and was reminded of how much she really _did_ need human companionship, or at the very least, human contact.

With renewed excitement at the thought of a companion to share the journey that had become surviving the zombie apocalypse with, Cress bounded into the main room of the shack to find her backpack. It held all of her belongings now. Not that she had ever owned much to begin with, but at least that fact made it easier when on the run.

Picking up her sack off the floor, she sat on the cleaner side of the little brown couch in the middle of the room and started taking inventory of her belongings.

She pulled out two pairs of wool socks, placing one pair aside and putting the other over her cold feet in an attempt to warm them. She also took out and placed next to her an extra pair of underwear, her soap and toothbrush she had retrieved from the bathroom, a couple of Band-Aids, and a lighter. She set aside the knife and bit of rope she had found in the cabin.

Food-wise she found her supply of two bags of fruit snacks, a half full can of peanuts, her metal water canteen, the fruit preserves she had discovered, and a container of Altoids (She absolutely _hated_ bad breath). At the bottom of her bag she found exactly three elastic hair bands. Cress pulled her hair up into a (very) messy ponytail with one of the bands and put the other two on her wrist. To add to her very sad pile of supplies, Cress dragged her hoodie from where it was lying over the back of the couch and picked up Little Cress from the warped wood floor.

Scanning her pile, Cress sighed. It wasn't much, but it could be worse. Cress looked down at the raggedy bear in her lap and for the first time since she had left the orphanage, allowed herself to think about the life she had left behind.

* * *

 _"Crescent! Pick me up, pick me up!"_

 _"You are way too big for me to carry you around like a baby anymore," Cress stated firmly._

 _"But, please," the little girl cried, drawing out the last word._

 _"Don't you dare give me the eyes," Cress sighed, knowing she was fighting for a lost cause. She could never to say no to the eyes._

 _The little girl twisted her face into a hopeful look and squeezed her eyes shut. She moved closer to Cress and rose up on the balls of her feet. When she was content that she had Cress' full attention, the girl opened her eyes as wide as they could go, taking a deep breath in. Cress peered down into bright blue eyes that were mirrors of her own._

 _"No!" Cress exclaimed. The girl just smiled and stepped back because she knew she had won. Cress loosed a breath of despair, but couldn't help the small smile that grew on her face. She scooped up the girl, catching her by surprise. The little girl shrieked and Cress finally allowed herself to break into a wide smile and laugh out loud. "You should have seen that coming from a mile away!"_

 _Cress waited for a response, but after a few seconds she quieted her laughing, opening her eyes and looking into the face of the only person she could never deny anything from._

 _"Crescent," the girl whispered. Her eyes were downcast and the giddy grin had disappeared from her face._

 _"What is it? Did I hurt you? Oh gosh, I hurt you, didn't I? I'm so sorry! I-" Cress stopped abruptly when she heard a giggle._

 _The small girl looked up at the quizzical look on Cress' face. "Oh Crescent, of course not. I just had to get back at you somehow."_

 _"I hate you."_

 _"No, you loooove me," she said with a sly smile._

 _Cress just gave her an annoyed look._

 _"You know you do!" the girl persisted._

 _"Whatever. But I swear this is the last time I carry your dead weight around."_

 _"That's what you say every time."_

 _"Well, this time it's true."_

 _"Suuuure we'll see how that works out for you. But it doesn't matter, I know you love me and guess what? I love you too."_

* * *

Cress looked up from the bear and towards the door at the front of the cabin, a sad smile on her face because she knew there would never be a next time when she could carry the little girl and feel her small hands tightly wound around Cress' body.

And that's when he walked in.

* * *

AN: as promised, I returned! Sorry for the wait, lost track of time! Sorry for the second cliff hanger in a row but I promise it will be worth it next chapter!

Thank you Guest, PennTheWriter, and naillanai for reviewing y'all really make my day :')

Anyways happy anniversary of the 2017 Women's March and happy TLC shipweeks! follow me on tumblr bc I art sometimes ekamuel


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Abercrombie Models in the Midst of the Apocalypse

* * *

"Who the hell are you?"

Cress' head whipped around toward the voice so fast that she could've sworn she had broken her neck. When her eyes settled on the intruder, all she could do was stare with her mouth hanging agape. Tanned skin infused with that golden Abercrombie model glow. Tousled light brown hair that she could just imagine running her fingers through a million times. A lean, structured face with high cheekbones sprinkled with the lightest dusting of freckles. And those eyes. That Caribbean Sea blue-green that she just knew she could get lost in for-

"Is that all _hair?"_

Cress, suddenly yanked out of her daydream, yelped and accidentally slipped off the side of the couch in an effort to stand on legs that had turned into Jell-O.

"Hello? Can you even talk?" He said exasperatedly. "Of course _I_ would get stuck with the mute girl at the end of the world." Cress' breath hitched and her eyes watered as she looked toward the ground. She attempted to find something, _anything_ , to hold onto. She clutched Little Cress who had fallen off the couch when Cress had. Realizing the guy of her dreams (even if he _did_ seem like an asshole) was probably still waiting for a response from her, Cress mentally checked herself. And _stars_ , was she a mess. Hurriedly running a hand through her ponytail in an effort to lessen the bird's nest, Cress shuffled to her feet, one hand still tightly wrapped around the bear. Abercrombie (that's what she had decided to call her dream guy for now) glanced down at the bear, giving it an odd look with a raised brow.

"What's with the bear?"

"None of your business," Cress muttered in what she hoped would sound like a strong, fearless voice. But when she voiced her opinion, her dry tongue got stuck in her mouth, causing her voice to awkwardly crack. Abercrombie drew his gaze up to her face, giving her an almost pitiful look.

"Well at least we know that you can talk," he chuckled. He scratched the back of his head, a sheepish expression forming on his face. "Geez, you know, sorry for being a little harsh when I first saw you. It's just that I don't usually come home to a woman lying on my couch. Unless I pay in advance, of course," he added with a wink. Cress' eyes grew wide and she could feel her face start to heat up. And then at the thought of her embarrassing and uncontrollable blush, she could only imagine her face becoming even _redder_ by the moment.

Cress was once again left with her mouth open, just inviting any lonely flies to fly in. "Oh," was all she could muster out of herself as looked away from him. "I suppose I should be on my way, anyways. I'm sorry I hadn't realized anyone was staying here. To be honest, I thought I was the last one left," Cress shrugged as she began to stuff all her belongings back into her backpack.

Cress froze as two large hands covered her small ones as she bent over to pick up her hoodie. "Wait! You don't have to do that. Listen, why don't you just take a seat. I mean, I don't even know your name and I already almost kicked you out of my house." Cress gave him a wary look even as he sat on the edge of the couch and patted the empty cushion next to him. "I don't bite nice girls like you, promise," he said with a grin. Cress slowly straightened up from her hunched position and cautiously sat down on the couch, putting as much space between her and Abercrombie as she could on the small couch that Cress now realized was more of a loveseat. After a few seconds of silence, Abercrombie turned towards her with an outstretched hand. "The name's Thorne, Captain Carswell Thorne. At your service."

Cress shook his hand gingerly. "Um, Cress," She cleared her throat so that her voice ringed a bit louder at the next couple of words, "Cress Darnel." She tried to remove her hand from his, but before she could he brought her hand to his lips and brushed his lips over her knuckles.

"Pleasure," he said in a voice that made her heart stop and her breath hitch.

Trying to regain her bearings as she had been trying to do since Abercrombie, excuse her _Captain Carswell Thorne_ , had walked in the through the door, Cress posed a question to try to make an awkward conversation less awkward. "You're a captain?"

"I sure am!" He puffed out his chest at his exclamation, but said the next sentence quieter, "Well at least I was training to become one before this whole zombie thing happened."

Cress, who had rested her elbow on her knee and her head in her hand during his response, sighed like the lovesick puppy she was, "That's _so_ brave."

His cheeks pinked a little bit at Cress' words. He coughed awkwardly and when full realization of what she had said hit her, Cress felt like burying her head in between the couch cushions and never coming out. Instead of that tempting course of action, though, Cress stumbled over her words as she tried to explain what she had just said.

"Ah…I mean, I would never think about serving my country like that. And aspiring to be a captain! That's so great! Like, I have never been one for the spotlight but that's so great!" Cress cursed herself when she realized she said that already. She put her head in her hands in embarrassment and groaned.

Carswell started to laugh. Actually _laugh_. At _her. Again_. She gave him an exasperated look and when he noticed he finally silenced his laughter, but couldn't seem to keep the smirk off his face.

"Sorry, I really am sorry, but it's just that I don't think anyone has ever said anything I did was great, let alone tell me _twice_!" He threw himself into another fit of laughter.

"Carswell, I really don't see how it can possibly be _that_ funny," Cress frowned with her arms crossed over her chest.

He had stopped laughing when she said that _. Good_ , she thought, _it's so rude of him to be mocking-_

"Carswell, eh?" he grunted.

"Um, yeah…?" Cress said, taken aback. Was that _really_ the only part he decided to focus on in the midst of her scolding?

"Thorne is fine."

"Oh," Cress raised her eyes to his face which was turned to the left, eyes looking away and jaw locked.

"No one has called me Carswell in a very long time." Cress could've sworn he had choked on the word Carswell, but she wasn't positive and made sure that she didn't react to it.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Thorne stiffly stood up and muttered something about using the restroom, stalking off to the corner of the shack. Cress turned her head to watch him go, once again alone on the couch.

* * *

AN: yikes so sorry about this long wait, if anyone is even still out there... school is officially crap, but at least only one more week to suffer through. good luck to everyone on finals! dios sabe que lo necesito... follow me on tumblr ekamuel ! befriend me! i swear im pleasant company


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Plans Are Stupid Anyways

* * *

"Alright! I have a plan."

Cress groggily looked up with surprised eyes towards the _Captain_ who appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. Cress didn't know what had happened in the bathroom of all places that had caused his sudden mood change, but she wasn't complaining. She rather have an overexcited Throne than a moody Thorne.

"A plan? For what?"

"Survival, of course!" Thorne said exasperatedly as if Cress could read his mind. He took a seat next to her on the couch, forcing Cress to scoot as far as she could without seeming rude. "Look. So I have been meaning to get out of this shack for a while now, but just couldn't bring myself to leave what's been my shelter for the past few weeks. I know, very sentimental of me. But with you barging in here and making yourself right at home…" Cress gave him an unimpressed look at that. He rushed out the next words after catching her eye, "What I mean is, its about time I found a new place anyways. And now that I can have some company, maybe even a partner in crime," he of course winked at that part, "I don't mind taking on the wilderness and doing a little adventuring!"

During his spiel, Thorne had risen out of the seat of the couch and was standing, hands on his hips, with his face bearing a blinding grin. Cress just gave him a blank stare. " _That's_ your _plan_? To just _leave_?"

"What's wrong now? Do you not want to accompany a charming, young man such as myself on the adventure of a lifetime? I must be losing my charm if that is the case, I have yet to be declined." He said the last words more softly, as if he legitimately couldn't imagine a woman _not_ wanting to go out with him.

"That's most definitely not the reason!" He looked up at that, so Cress hurriedly continued, "It's just that's not even a plan, more like a very unrealistic and bottom line idiotic idea." Cress felt a little bad after saying the last sentence, but it wasn't a _lie_.

"Fine Miss Know-It-All, what would _you_ propose?" Thorne said moodily. Cress couldn't care less. Sure, he might be the devilishly handsome hero that would always rescue her from towers and dragons in her dreams, but she hadn't had a good night's rest in almost 3 weeks and her breath was in a constant state of "Bar of Soap Flavor." So, sue her if she was being _insensitive_ (Mind you, a word not usually in her vocabulary).

Cress took a deep breath, "Well we stay here of course. I don't see why not. It's a roof over our heads. There's some actual food that doesn't need to be hunted, killed, and roasted. Also, a working toilet and _shower_. If you wish to go and take on the wonders of nature with the company of thousands of blood-thirsty zombies, be my guest, but I plan on staying here where it's nice and semi-warm for as long as possible."

Thorne crossed his arms over his chest. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a loud moan from outside. Thorne sucked in an audible breath and remained tight-lipped while Cress herself froze in fear.

 _Crap._ She _knew_ all the sounds they had been creating, showering and talking alike, were bound to conjure up some unwanted visitors. Thorne slid back into the seat next to her and stared at her with a hint of fear in his eyes that looked out of place on his normally confident face. He closed his eyes took a deep breath and looked intensely directly into her eyes.

"There's a maintenance closet to the left of the back door. You need to crawl as quietly as possible and stay there until I say so," he said in a voice so low, that combined with his unfaltering gaze, they made Cress squirm.

"But what about-"

"No 'buts.' I just have to get a few things and then I'll be there in just a few minutes. Now _go_." And with that, Cress was on the floor shuffling on hands and knees towards the back of the cabin.

When she arrived at the door of the closet she dared a glance back, but Thorne was already gone. Cress reached up to turn the doorknob and slipped into the dark closet, closing the door behind her. In the pitch-black darkness, Cress' breaths grew shorter and more sporadic by the minute. _How many minutes had it been?_ It seems like 20, but she doubted even 2 had passed. _Where was Thorne? What was taking so long? Maybe the undead caught him and were eating him at this very second. Maybe he had stolen her belongings and left her behind for the undead to find._ This was just like the last time.

* * *

 _Screams. That's all Cress heard as she sat in the porcelain tub with the white curtain drawn around her._

 _So selfish. She was so selfish._

 _But how could she have known that the end of the world would come in the blink of an eye? One minute she was eating dinner with the rest of the kids and the next, chaos._

 _She didn't know where else to go, who else to follow._

 _How could she have been so selfish?_

 _She should have searched for her before hiding. She could be anywhere now. She could be dead._

 _Stomp. Drag. Stomp. Drag. Oh stars, this was it. This was really it. She was going to die._

 _Stomp. Drag. Cress looked up at the first stars starting to appear outside the small window in the bathroom._

 _Stomp. Drag. Louder. "Cress…" the stars, they were calling her._

 _Stomp. Drag. "Cress," the stars were getting brighter and Cress felt lighter._

 _Stomp—_

* * *

"Cress," a vicious whisper dragged her out of the past and to the present. Cress's eyes opened to slits.

"Aces, thank the stars," _the stars they wanted her_ , "you're okay." Cress frowned in confusion at Thorne. "You were shaking and crying when I found you," Thorne said barely above a whisper. Cress reached up to feel her cheeks, and only then did she realize she had in fact been crying.

"Thank you, I don't what come over me, I—" Thorne shoved a calloused hand over her mouth and turned her so that she was practically in his lap. She let out an internal yelp and her eyes were probably as large as saucers.

"Shhh… I think they're here," His mouth was right next to her ear, and his breath ruffled the strands of hair that had fallen against her cheek. Cress could hear a faint rustling outside the front of the house, and found herself unconsciously gluing herself to Thorne in fear. Glass shattered and Cress wrenched her eyes shut, trying desperately not to be reminded of all the similarities between this moment and her past. Although it was previously against her better judgment to do so, Cress took comfort in Thorne's presence, his warmth against her back, contrasting the icy fear consuming her.

* * *

hope you enjoyed the action! more to follow! and hey i updated without like 3 months passing in between haha, anyways as always tumblr: ekamuel basiccmind (that's my tumblr full of dry humor)

see y'all soon, Liz


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Crying Is For Babies (And Everyone Else)

* * *

"We're gonna have to make a run for it."

Cress's eyes widened as she resisted the urge to whip her head around to the whisper behind her. She tilted her head and slightly shook her head, hoping Thorne would understand her opposition.

"Darling, we don't have a choice, I'm afraid," Thorne said in a low voice, making the closet seem that much more intimate. And sure, they were in the closet hiding from the undead, but they were still in a closet. Together.

"Why can't we just wait until they're gone?" Cress pleaded.

"They caught our scent; they know we are here somewhere. If I know one thing about these suckers, it's that they can't leave well enough alone, and will search this cabin top to bottom. It's inevitable, they will eventually find us," Thorne deeply inhaled and exhaled. "It's either we have a fighting chance with surprise on our side, or they find us first."

Ok, so he wasn't _as_ dumb as she originally thought. Cress took about 3 seconds to think it over (because they didn't have much longer), and let out a shaky "Okay, let's do this…"

"Um, Cress, I know I'm devilishly handsome, but I'm gonna need you to let go of me so we can, um, you know… _'do this'_."

Cress, not even realizing her hands maintained a death grip around Throne's (muscular) arms, blushed furiously and quickly retracted her hands, crossing her arms across her chest. Thorne scuffled to his feet, and reached out a hand to help Cress up. Cress gingerly grabbed his hand, and he pulled her up.

"Right, so," releasing her hand, Thorne reached around his back and carefully drew from his pants a sleek black gun. Cress frowned. "They're dead already," is all Throne said upon noticing her stare. Cress looked up at his face to find his smile had morphed into a grim straight line. She quickly averted her eyes, as if she had spied on a secret of his.

"Ok, you stay behind me. When I hear one of those creepers get close to this door, I'll swing the door real hard, and hope to smack it unconscious, if not that's what this is for," he waved the gun in his hands, "I'll try to grab as much of your stuff as I can, hopefully including some shoes for you," he commented eyeing her sock-covered feet.

"Yes, uh, that would be smart, also if you would please…the bear…" Cress bit her lip and twisted a piece of hair in between her fingers. Thorne looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, but this made Cress more determined (and desperate). "Please, it's all I have left."

"As you wish, your highness, some shoes and one bear coming right up. Now quiet, I think one is coming this way."

" _Wait_ ," Cress hissed, "what do I do again? Where do I go?"

"The back door will be to your immediate left as we exit. Should be unlocked."

" _Should_? And if not?"

"Quiet. _3…2…1…_ " Thorne burst out of the door, ramming his shoulder into it as he turned the knob. Cress worried his shoulder would be dislocated. "Cress! Go, now!"

Cress quickly ran to the door, which was exactly where Thorne said it would be. She turned the knob in a hurry, and panic shot through her as the door wouldn't open. She yanked back and forth, but to no avail. The door was deadbolted. Two gunshots popped in the still air.

"Aces," Cress wildly whipped her head back and forth and caught a glance of Thorne grabbing her bag as two creatures lay motionless on the ground, but more still made their way towards him. Predators sizing up their prey. _Get a grip, Cress. Get out. Just get out. Another door, a window, a window!_ She hurried to the window on the other side of the door and tried desperately to open the window, but instead only cursed the old shack and its rusted shut windows. Another crack of the gun. Only one way to go. Cress looked around her feet for something heavy. She spied an iron fire poker in the corner and grabbed it. Holding it like a baseball bat, Cress wringed her sweaty palms on the cold iron. A gunshot. _I can do this._ She took a deep breath and swung the poker at the window with as much strength as she could muster.

Glass shattered in slow motion and the clear pieces rained down like teardrops. Cress hurriedly smoothed the sides of the window frame, making sure no large pieces were sticking out.

"Thanks, Cress," Thorne said as he rushed past her and jumped through the window. He stood on the outside of the cabin at the base of the window, arms out to help her through. Cress glanced behind her to see four humanoid bodies littering the ground, sagging like trash bags. "More will be on their way, we gotta go." He was right.

Cress gripped his wrists as she readied herself to jump through the window as Thorne had. She jumped, but misgauged the height causing her feet to scrape the bottom windowsill. She cried out as broken pieces of glass wedged themselves through her socks and into her small feet.

"Fuck. Aces." Thorne lifted her the rest of the way through the window and carefully set her down on the warped floorboards of the back porch.

Cress hated crying but she couldn't stop the tears from forming and running down her cheeks. She gently stretched her legs out straight, her heels barely touching the ground.

"Shit, Cress, I'm so sorry. I should've lifted you higher." Cress could only nod in response while biting her lip. "Okay, I'm gonna try to pull as many pieces as I can get out. They shouldn't be too deep, but it's gonna hurt. Is that okay, Cress?" Another nod from her.

He shifted his body closer to her feet and inspected the glass. "Ok, deep breath, Cress." She followed his words and took a shaky breath. Thorne did the same, and Cress wondered for a split second if she should really trust him to act as "doctor" on her feet. The split second was over as she gasped when Thorne slid the first piece out of her foot.

"One down, 150 to go," he joked. Cress sent him a glare which made him chuckle.

About 150 winces and tears later, Thorne declared her feet clear of glass. He started slowly peeling off her blood-stained socks. Cress screwed her eyes shut and bit her lip so hard it bled as she felt every touch on her throbbing swollen feet.

"Yikes, this doesn't look too good, darling."

Cress couldn't see for herself, but those words didn't send much encouragement her way. Cress looked up from her feet to his face desperately.

"Lucky for you, I grabbed a first aid kit along with all your stuff. I'll do what I can but its gonna have to be fast, we've already been here too long," Thorne looked into the woods surrounding them.

He unzipped her backpack and brought out her water bottle, opening the top. He lifted her feet to sit over his lap and carefully poured water over the mangled skin. Cress winced, but her attention caught on his gentle hands and determined face. After setting the bottle to the side, Thorne patted her feet dry with the end of his shirt. He searched through the small white first aid kit to his left and brought out a roll of gauze bandaging.

"Well, this isn't my best work, but it'll do," Thorne sighed after he finished wrapping her feet. Cress looked down at her transformed mummy-feet. Her feet still throbbed, but it was now more of a dull ache. She pulled her bloody socks back over the thick white gauze and Thorne brought over her boots. Cress was for once thankful for her half-size too large boots as she delicately pulled them on her feet. She laced them up, but not too tight.

Throne stuffed all the supplies back into her backpack and stood up. He helped Cress to her feet ( _for the millionth time that day_ , she thought, annoyed).

"Here we go, into the wilderness." Cress squinted up at Thorne's words.

"We? Wouldn't you rather we just part ways here?" she questioned, "I know I've already caused you trouble…"

"Don't be silly, if I left you alone in your condition," he motioned to her feet, "you would become the creepers' next meal. You can't change my mind, we're sticking together. Besides, I mean, what better company is there at the end of the world than a pretty girl," Thorne glanced at her and smirked at the blush coloring her cheeks.

"Al-Alright, sure if you say so…into the wilderness."

"Into the wilderness."

* * *

heyooo. currently trying to make my summer productive almost halfway through July, and side note: just got home from visiting Boston and i miss it already, cant wait to move there next year. ah it's just my type of city *insert giant heart eyes* anyways give me a shout in the comments because i thrive on critiques

liz out


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Zombies AKA The Worst Type of Picky Eaters

* * *

 _And everything was alright…  
_

 _Almost, but not quite,  
I'd be tangled up without you…  
Oh, a mess…_

Cress sighed as she hummed the verse she couldn't get out of her head. She annoyed herself by knowing only a few words of the song, but the tune refused to leave her brain. Before allowing herself to repeat the hymn for the thirty-seventh time, she turned her head away from the wall of trees to her left and stared at the back of Thorne's head.

Ever since they left the cabin, he was a man on a mission, not allowing any breaks the past few hours even as the sun reached its zenith and proceeded to pass it. He said he knew where he was going (in his words: he knew "a place"), and Cress highly doubted that, but did she have any other options? No. _Odd, she always assumed if the end of the world provided anything, it would provide options._

They didn't waste any time scurrying to the woods beyond the cabin after her foot fiasco, and Thorne had kept up a quick pace for an hour after the cabin was out of sight. The forest showed no signs of danger their entire walk, but Thorne only slightly decreased his speed upon realizing Cress was having a difficult time keeping up. _Aces, her feet hurt._

Cress looked past his head at the never-ending forest ahead of them.

 _And everything was alright… Almost but—_

Cress choked as she stumbled over a root jutting out of the ground and frantically stuck her stick arms in front of her to catch the fall she knew was coming. For a second, she thought Thorne would catch her like in the movies where the clumsy girl falls in the hall and the hot guy catches her just in time.

But then Cress remembered, this was not a rom-com. This was the apocalypse. _Shit._

She slammed face first into the damp leaves and mud.

Now there wasn't any part of her body that wasn't in pain. She just laid on the hard ground as she lacked the strength to even raise her head, let alone stand up. She heard steps nearing and prepared herself for Thorne to have his laugh at her disposal.

He crouched in front of her and peered at her face, "Well, I mean, I guess we could sleep here if that's what you want. A little out in the open, but looks comfy."

Cress merely blew a piece of hair covering her eyes to glare at him better. Of course, the strands of hair just fell right back in her face.

He grinned at her, but had the right mind not to chuckle. She placed her palms under herself and pushed them into the ground to force her body up. At that point, Thorne must have decided _helping_ her would be the nice thing to do because he reached under her arms and lifted Cress to her feet.

"How much longer?" Cress asked brushing herself (and Throne's hands) off. _Ugh, she was so tired of making a fool out of herself. Before she became any more irritable, she needed food and sleep. Fast._

"Well, I would say we're still a day's walk away from our destination," Thorne glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "but I think a good rest could benefit us. It's almost dark anyways, and that doesn't bother me any, but wouldn't want any unnecessary trouble."

As if Cress could roll her eyes any farther back into her head, "I'm not scared of the dark." _Yes, you are._ If she's said it once she's said it a million times: she hated her conscience.

Thorne raised his hands in innocence, "You said it not me. But anyways, looks like there's a little clearing over between those two trees." He led the way off their nonexistent path and Cress followed, watching extra carefully where she stepped (and didn't step). He stopped and turned amongst the trees with his arms outstretched, "Home sweet home."

Two large trees stood a few feet away from each other and Cress stalked over to the one closest to her, plopping herself down on some sticks and leaves. Thorne took his seat across from her, back against the second tree. He slung her backpack off his shoulders, zipping it open, and pulled out one of the jars of preserves. Screwing off the top, Thorne greedily stuck his fingers in the jar like a bear with a pot of honey.

"Better not be molded" is all he said before he popped an orange slice in his mouth. Cress scrutinized his face for any signs of sickness or death.

"Darling, they wouldn't kill me that fast. Here, take some. They're _fine_ ," Thorne placed the jar into her hands and she stared into the orange jar. "Believe me, we've got luck on our side. There's no way the universe would allow us to survive a zombie attack only to kill this beautiful face at the hands of some old soft fruit."

Cress wiped as much dirt as she could from her fingers and from beneath her nails on her dress before gingerly sticking two fingers into the jar and pulling out a slice of orange. _This is not the time to be a picky eater._ Before she could think too much, she shoved the piece into her mouth. Her face screwed into a sour look as the mushy texture slipped down her throat. She almost gagged as it made its way down but she maintained some level of dignity by forcing herself to swallow.

"So, not _terrible_ , I see," Thorne grinned.

"Oh quiet, I already know there's nothing worse than a picky eater at the end of the world."

"When you put it like that, you make yourself sound like an undead. Must…have…brains…" Thorne said the last part with his arms outstretched and his tongue lolling around in his mouth.

His interpretation made Cress giggle and she felt a small amount of the day's stresses lift from her chest. "Seriously how I've made it this far is a mystery," Cress stated with a shake of her head. _Thorne was onto something; sheer luck was definitely on her side._

"Well you gotta be good for something," Throne joked, "Like hey, what about your voice?"

"My voice?" Cress asked, confused where this conversation was now headed.

"Yeah, I heard you singing earlier. Not too shabby." A wink and a grin. _Ah, really using that charm again._ Cress wanted to resist, but it _was_ the end of the world so she allowed herself some indulgence.

"Oh, that wasn't really singing, I was only humming." Cress bit into another orange preserve. This time she didn't gag.

"Hm well whatever it was, singing or humming or yodeling, I liked it. Sounded nice." Cress looked up at Throne as her ears grew pink.

"Thanks," she squeaked. _Was this flirting? Or was he just being nice? Oh stars._

With that, Cress screwed the top of the preserve can back on and the spell was broken. She handed it back to Throne and he silently slipped it back into her backpack. He pulled out her jacket and handed it to Cress. She grabbed it, careful not to touch his hands as she rolled it up and put it behind her head as a pillow.

"I'll take first watch," Thorne said lazily and Cress nodded, suddenly too tired to care.

As Cress turned her head to watch the sunset, she found herself humming the familiar tune again. Only now, the rest of the song came easily.

 _Baby, you're hands down the best thing about me…_

 _And baby, I don't know where I was…_

 _But I'm so glad you found me._

* * *

Enjoy and see you in the comments!


End file.
